When times get tough, we all look for ways to cut back. When we’re hungry, we eat at home instead of going out. We take buses instead of taxis. And we wear our old designer jeans just a few months longer. With college expenses at all-time highs, high school students are eager to do anything to cut the cost of a university education.
One cost-cutting proposal is to allow college students to get a bachelor’s degree in three years instead of four. Educational institutions have been actively exploring ways to make the learning process more efficient. But there’s a question: Would the quality of undergraduate(本科生)education suffer? Few US universities have formally approved a “three-year degree” model.
I doubt that mainstream North American colleges will carry out a three-year curriculum(课程) any time soon. For one thing, most universities already allow highly qualified students to graduate early by testing out of certain classes and obtaining a number of college credits(学分). In addition, at famous universities, the mittee who determine which courses are required and which courses are electives are unlikely to suddenly “throw out” one quarter of the required credits. Professors will resist “diluting(稀释)” the quality of the education they offer.
In my opinion, a quality four-year education is always superior to a quality three-year education. A college education requires sufficient time for a student to bee skilled in their major and do coursework in fields outside their major. It is not a good idea to water down education, any more than it’s not a good idea to water down medicine. If we want to help students find their way through university, we should help them understand early on what knowledge and skills they need to have upon graduation. We should allow students to test out of as many courses as possible. We should give them a chance to earn money as interns(实习生)in meaningful part-time jobs that relate to their university studies, such as the five-year co-op program at Northeastern University.
【小题1】The first paragraph serves as a(n) ．A．explanationB．definitionC．introductionD．ment【小题2】We can learn from the passage that .A．most American universities are against the “three-year degree” modelB．many famous US universities are considering adopting the “three-year degree” modelC．professors are willing to accept the “three-year degree” modelD．the “three-year degree” model can make college learning more efficient【小题3】In most US universities， .A．college students are offered the co-op programB．electives’ credits make up one quarter of the required creditsC．all students are required to finish four-year education before graduationD．some excellent students can graduate ahead of time【小题4】We can infer that .A．the author is a college professorB．the author thinks the cost of a university education is too high for people to affordC．the author considers the university education quality very importantD．the author pays special attention to the all-round development of college students【小题5】Which of the following can be the best title?A．It’s time to shorten the learning processB．Best learning takes place over timeC．University education should be watered downD．College education calls for reformC
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(答案→)C
解析：文章大意：作者认为把大学四年的学制缩短为三年不是一个好主意，保证足够的时间才能保证大学教育的质量。
【小题1】C篇章结构题。本题要求学生推断文章的结构。根据第一段的内容可知第一段是用来引入话题的，故C项最佳。
【小题2】A细节理解题。根据第二段中的Few US universities have formally approved a “three-year degree” model可知几乎没有几所美国大学认可“三年本科学位”模式。
【小题3】D细节理解题。根据第三段中的most universities already allow highly qualified students to graduate early可知特别优秀的大学生可以提前毕业。
【小题4】C推理判断题。在第四段作者给出了自己的观点，从“A college education requires sufficient time for a student to bee skilled in their major...”“It is not a good idea to water down education”等处可以看出作者非常看重大学教育质量。
【小题5】B主旨大意题。作者认为把大学四年的学制缩短为三年不是一个好主意，学好大学功课是需要付出时间的，故B项最佳。